Menu
For free
Registration
home  /  Business/ The main result of the French Revolution of 1789. The Great French Bourgeois Revolution - causes, stages, consequences

The main result of the French Revolution of 1789. The Great French Bourgeois Revolution - causes, stages, consequences

Among non-Marxist historians, two views prevail on the nature of the Great French Revolution, which do not contradict each other. The traditional view that arose at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. (Sieyès, Barnave, Guizot), considers the revolution as a nationwide uprising against the aristocracy, its privileges and its methods of oppressing the masses, hence the revolutionary terror against the privileged classes, the desire of the revolutionaries to destroy everything that was associated with the Old Order and build a new free and democratic society . From these aspirations flowed the main slogans of the revolution - freedom, equality, brotherhood.

According to the second view, which is shared by a large number of modern historians (including V. Tomsinov, I. Wallerstein, P. Huber, A. Cobbo, D. Guerin, E. Leroy Ladurie, B. Moore, Huneke, etc.), the revolution was anti-capitalist in nature and represented an explosion of mass protest against capitalism or against those methods of its spread that were used by the ruling elite.

There are other opinions about the nature of the revolution. For example, historians F. Furet and D. Richet view the revolution largely as a struggle for power between various factions that replaced each other several times during 1789-1799. . There is a view of the revolution as the liberation of the bulk of the population (peasants) from a monstrous system of oppression or some kind of slavery, hence the main slogan of the revolution - Liberty, equality, brotherhood. However, there is evidence that at the time of the revolution the vast majority of the French peasantry were personally free, and state taxes and feudal duties were not at all high. The reasons for the revolution are seen to be that it was a peasant revolution caused by the last filling of the reservoir. From this point of view, the French Revolution was systemic in nature and belonged to the same type of revolution as the Dutch Revolution, the English Revolution or the Russian Revolution. .

Convocation of the Estates General

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get out of a difficult financial situation, Louis XVI announced in December 1787 that he would convene French government officials for a meeting of the States General in five years. When Jacques Necker became a parliamentarian for the second time, he insisted that the Estates General be convened as early as 1789; the government, however, had no specific program.

The rebel peasants burned the castles of the lords, seizing their lands. In some provinces, about half of the landowners' estates were burned or destroyed; these events of 1789 were called the “Great Fear”.

Abolition of class privileges

By decrees of August 4-11, the Constituent Assembly abolished personal feudal duties, seigneurial courts, church tithes, privileges of individual provinces, cities and corporations and declared the equality of all before the law in the payment of state taxes and the right to occupy civil, military and church positions. But at the same time it announced the elimination of only “indirect” duties (the so-called banalities): the “real” duties of the peasants, in particular, land and poll taxes, were retained.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Activities of the Constituent Assembly

Was held administrative reform: The provinces were united into 83 departments with a single judicial system.

Following the principle of civil equality, the assembly abolished class privileges and abolished the institution of hereditary nobility, noble titles and coats of arms.

The policy began to take hold economic liberalism: it was announced that all trade restrictions would be lifted; Medieval guilds and state regulation of entrepreneurship were liquidated, but at the same time, according to Le Chapelier's law, strikes and workers' organizations - companionships - were prohibited.

In July 1790, the Constituent Assembly completed church reform: bishops were appointed to all 83 departments of the country; all church ministers began to receive salaries from the state. The Constituent Assembly demanded that the clergy swear allegiance not to the Pope, but to the French state. Only half of the priests and only 7 bishops decided to take this step. The Pope responded by condemning the French Revolution, all the reforms of the Constituent Assembly, and especially the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.”

Adoption of the constitution

Arrest of Louis XVI

On June 20, 1791, the king tried to escape the country, but was recognized at the border in Varenna by a postal employee and returned to Paris, where he actually found himself in custody in his own palace (the so-called “Varenna crisis”).

On September 3, 1791, the National Assembly proclaimed the fourth constitution in European history (after the Constitution of Pylyp Orlik, the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of May 3, and the Constitution of San Marino) and the fifth constitution in the world (the US Constitution of 1787). It proposed to convene a Legislative Assembly - a unicameral parliament based on a high property qualification. There were only 4.3 million “active” citizens who received the right to vote under the constitution, and only 50 thousand electors who elected deputies. Deputies of the National Assembly could not be elected to the new parliament. The Legislative Assembly opened on October 1, 1791. This fact indicated the establishment of a limited monarchy in the country.

At meetings of the Legislative Assembly, the question of starting a war in Europe was raised, primarily as a means of solving internal problems. On April 20, 1792, the King of France, under pressure from the Legislative Assembly, declared war on the Holy Roman Empire. On April 28, 1792, the National Guard launched attacks on the Belgian positions, which ended in complete failure.

From the storming of the Tuileries to the execution of the king

On August 10, 1792, about 20 thousand rebels (the so-called sans-culottes) surrounded the royal palace. His assault was short-lived, but bloody. The attackers were resisted by several thousand soldiers of the Swiss Guard, almost all of whom fell at the Tuileries or were killed in prisons during the “September Murders”. One of the results of this assault was the virtual removal of Louis XVI from power and the emigration of Lafayette.

From this point on, for several months, the highest revolutionary bodies - the National Assembly and the Convention - were under strong influence and pressure from the popular masses (sans-culottes) and in a number of cases were forced to fulfill the immediate demands of the crowd of rebels who surrounded the building of the National Assembly. These demands included the rollback of previously implemented trade liberalization, freezing prices, wages and harsh prosecution of speculators. These measures were taken and lasted until the arrest of Robespierre in July 1794. All this occurred against the backdrop of a rise in mass terror, which, although directed mainly against the aristocracy, led to the executions and murders of tens of thousands of people from all walks of life.

At the end of August, the Prussian army launched an attack on Paris and took Verdun on September 2, 1792. The confusion and fear of the return of the old order in society led to the “September murders” of aristocrats and former soldiers of the king’s Swiss guard, prisoners in prisons in Paris and a number of other cities, which occurred in early September, during which more than 5 thousand people were killed.

Accusations and attacks on the Girondins

The trial of Marie Antoinette

The revolution led to enormous casualties. It is estimated that from 1789 to 1815. Only from revolutionary terror in France up to 2 million civilians died, and up to 2 million soldiers and officers died in wars. Thus, 7.5% of the population of France died in revolutionary battles and wars alone (the population in the city was 27,282,000), not counting those who died over the years from hunger and epidemics. By the end of the Napoleonic era, there were almost no adult men left in France capable of fighting.

At the same time, a number of authors point out that the revolution brought liberation from heavy oppression to the people of France, which could not have been achieved in any other way. A “balanced” view of the revolution views it as a great tragedy in the history of France, but at the same time inevitable, resulting from the severity of class contradictions and accumulated economic and political problems.

Most historians believe that the Great French Revolution had enormous international significance, contributed to the spread of progressive ideas throughout the world, influenced a series of revolutions in Latin America, as a result of which the latter was freed from colonial dependence, and a number of other events in the first half of the 19th century.

Songs of revolutionary France

Revolution in philately

Literature

  • Ado A.V. Peasants and the Great French Revolution. Peasant movements in 1789-94. M.: Publishing house Mosk. University, 2003.
  • Current problems in studying the history of the Great French Revolution (materials of the “round table” on September 19-20, 1988). M., 1989.
  • Bachko B.. How to get out of Terror? Thermidor and the Revolution. Per. from fr. and last D. Yu. Bovykina. M.: BALTRUS, 2006.
  • Bovykin D. Yu. Is the revolution over? Results of Thermidor. M.: Publishing house Mosk. University, 2005.
  • Gordon A.V. The fall of the Girondins. Popular uprising in Paris May 31 - June 2, 1793. M.: Nauka, 2002.
  • Dzhivelegov A.K. The army of the Great French Revolution and its leaders: a historical sketch. M., 2006.
  • Historical sketches about the French Revolution. In memory of V. M. Dalin (on the occasion of his 95th birthday). Institute of General History RAS. M., 1998.
  • Zacher Ya. M.“Mad Ones,” their activities and historical significance // French Yearbook, 1964. M., 1965
  • Carlyle T. French Revolution: history. M., 2002.
  • Koshen O. Small people and revolution. M.: Iris-Press, 2003.
  • Kropotkin P. A. The French Revolution. 1789-1793. M., 2003.
  • Levandovsky A. Maximilian Robespierre. M.: Young Guard, 1959. (ZhZL)
  • Levandovsky A. Danton. M.: Young Guard, 1964. (ZhZL)
  • Manfred A. Z. Foreign policy of France 1871-1891. M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1952.
  • Manfred A. Z. The French Revolution. M., 1983.
  • Manfred A. Z. Three portraits of the era of the Great French Revolution (Mirabeau, Rousseau, Robespierre). M., 1989.
  • Mathiez A. French revolution. Rostov-on-Don, 1995.
  • Minier F. History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814. M., 2006.
  • Olar A. Political history of the French Revolution. M., 1938. Part 1, Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
  • The first explosion of the French Revolution. From the reports of the Russian envoy in Paris I. M. Simolin to Vice-Chancellor A. I. Osterman// Russian archive, 1875. - Book. 2. - Issue. 8. - pp. 410-413.
  • Popov Yu. V. Publicists of the Great French Revolution. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 2001.
  • Revunenkov V. G. Essays on the history of the Great French Revolution. L., 1989.
  • Revunenkov V. G. Parisian sans-culottes of the era of the French Revolution. L., 1971.
  • Sobul A. From the history of the Great Bourgeois Revolution of 1789-1794. and the revolution of 1848 in France. M., 1960.
  • Sobul A. The problem of the nation during the social struggle during the French bourgeois revolution of the 18th century. New and Contemporary History, 1963, No. 6. P.43-58.
  • Tarle E. V. Working class in France during the revolution
  • Tocqueville A. The old order and revolution. Per. from fr. M. Fedorova. M.: Moscow. Philosophical Foundation, 1997.
  • Tyrsenko A.V. Feyants: at the origins of French liberalism. M., 1993.
  • Frikadel G.S. Danton. M. 1965.
  • Yure F. Understanding the French Revolution. St. Petersburg, 1998.
  • Hobsbawm E. Echo of the Marseillaise. M., Inter-Verso, 1991.
  • Chudinov A.V.. M.: Nauka, 2006.
  • Chudinov A.V. Scientists and the French Revolution

see also

Notes

  1. Wallerstein I. The Modern World-System III. The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist World-Economy, 1730-1840s. San Diego, 1989, pp. 40-49; Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 265
  2. See, for example: Goubert P. L’Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 1, 1969, p. 235
  3. The introduction of market relations began in 1763-1771. under Louis XV and continued in subsequent years, until 1789 (see Ancien Regime). The leading role in this was played by liberal economists (physiocrats), who were almost all representatives of the aristocracy (including the head of government, the physiocrat Turgot), and kings Louis XV and Louis XVI were active supporters of these ideas. See Kaplan S. Bread, Politics and Political Economy in the reign of Louis XV. Hague, 1976
  4. See Old Order. One such example is the uprising of October 1795 (shot from cannon by Napoleon), in which 24 thousand armed bourgeois - residents of the central districts of Paris - took part. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek and others, Minsk, 1997-1999, vol. 16, p. 86-90. Another example is the uprising of the sans-culottes on August 10, 1792, who for the most part represented the petty bourgeoisie (small businesses, artisans, etc.) opposing big business - the aristocracy. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 109
  5. Goubert P. L'Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 2, 1973, p. 247
  6. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 255
  7. Wallerstein I. The Modern World-System III. The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist World-Economy, 1730-1840s. San Diego, 1989, pp. 40-49
  8. Furet F. et Richet D. La revolution francaise. Paris, 1973, pp. 213, 217
  9. Goubert P. L'Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 1, 1969; Kuzovkov Yu. World history of corruption. M., 2010, chapter XIII
  10. Aleksakha A. G. Introduction to progressology. Moscow, 2004 p. 208-233 alexakha.ucoz.com/vvedenie_v_progressologiju.doc
  11. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek et al., Minsk, 1998, vol. 16, p. 7-9
  12. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek et al., Minsk, 1998, vol. 16, p. 14
  13. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 71
  14. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 111, 118
  15. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek et al., Minsk, 1998, vol. 16, p. 37-38
  16. Chudinov A.V. Charlotte Corday and “Friend of the People” from the book: Chudinov A.V. The French Revolution: history and myths. M.: Nauka, 2006.
  17. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 253
  18. Goubert P. L'Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 2, 1973, pp. 245-247
  19. Kozhinov V. Russia. XX century. Moscow, 2008, p. 974
  20. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 254

Links

It was the result of a long crisis of the feudal system, which led to conflict between the third estate and the privileged upper class. Despite the difference in class interests of those in the third estate of the bourgeoisie, peasantry and urban plebeians (manufacturing workers, urban poor), they were united by an interest in the destruction of the feudal-absolutist system. The leader in this struggle was the bourgeoisie.

The main contradictions that predetermined the inevitability of the revolution were aggravated by state bankruptcy, the commercial and industrial crisis that began in the year, and lean years that led to famine. In - years, a revolutionary situation developed in the country. Peasant uprisings that engulfed a number of French provinces were intertwined with plebeian uprisings in the cities (in Rennes, Grenoble, Besançon, in the Saint-Antoine suburb of Paris, etc.). The monarchy, unable to maintain its position using old methods, was forced to make concessions: notables were convened in the year, and then the Estates General, which had not met since the year.

The sharp deterioration in the economic and especially food situation as a result of the war contributed to the aggravation of the class struggle in the country. The peasant movement intensified again in the year. In a number of departments (Er, Gar, Nor, etc.), peasants arbitrarily divided communal lands. The protests of the starving poor in the cities took very sharp forms. The representatives of the interests of the plebeians - the “mad” (leaders - J. Roux, J. Varlet, etc.) demanded the establishment of a maximum (fixed prices for consumer goods) and curbing speculators. Taking into account the demands of the masses and taking into account the current political situation, the Jacobins agreed to an alliance with the “mad”. On May 4, the Convention, despite the resistance of the Girondins, decreed the establishment of fixed prices for grain. A new popular uprising on May 31 - June 2 of the year ended with the expulsion of the Girondins from the Convention and the transfer of power to the Jacobins.

Third stage (2 June 1793 - 27/28 July 1794)

This period of the revolution is characterized by the Jacobin dictatorship. Interventionist troops invaded from the north, east and south. Counter-revolutionary revolts (see Vendée Wars) swept the entire north-west of the country, as well as the south. By agrarian legislation (June - July), the Jacobin Convention transferred communal and emigrant lands to the peasants for division and completely destroyed all feudal rights and privileges. Thus, the main issue of the revolution - the agrarian one - was resolved on a democratic basis, the former feudal-dependent peasants turned into free owners. On June 24, the Convention approved, instead of the qualification constitution of 1791, a new constitution - much more democratic. However, the critical situation of the republic forced the Jacobins to delay the implementation of the constitutional regime and replace it with a regime of revolutionary democratic dictatorship. The convention on August 23 adopted a historic decree on the mobilization of the entire French nation to fight for the expulsion of enemies from the borders of the republic. The Convention, in response to the terrorist acts of the counter-revolution (the murder of J. P. Marat, the leader of the Lyon Jacobins J. Chalier, and others) introduced revolutionary terror.

The so-called Ventoise decrees, adopted in February and March of the year, were not implemented due to the resistance of the large property-owning elements in the apparatus of the Jacobin dictatorship. Plebeian elements and the rural poor began to partially move away from the Jacobin dictatorship, a number of whose social demands were not satisfied. At the same time, most of the bourgeoisie, which did not want to continue to put up with the restrictive regime and plebeian methods of the Jacobin dictatorship, switched to positions of counter-revolution, dragging with them the wealthy peasantry, dissatisfied with the policy of requisitions, and after them the middle peasantry. In the summer of the year, a conspiracy arose against the revolutionary government headed by Robespierre, which led to a counter-revolutionary coup that overthrew the Jacobin dictatorship and thereby put an end to the revolution (Thermidorian coup).

July 14, Bastille Day is a national holiday in France; La Marseillaise, written at that time, is still the national anthem of France.

Used materials

  • Dictionary of modern geographical names, France
    • http://slovari.yandex.ru/French revolution/Geographic...ies/
  • TSB, French Revolution

The last decade of the 18th century was marked by an event that not only changed the existing order in a single European country, but also influenced the entire course of world history. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 became the preacher of class struggle for several subsequent generations. Its dramatic events brought the heroes out of the shadows and exposed the antiheroes, destroying the usual worldview of millions of residents of monarchical states. The main premises and the French Revolution of 1789 itself are briefly described below.

What led to the coup?

The reasons for the French Revolution of 1789-1799 have been rewritten many times from one history textbook to another and come down to the thesis that the patience of that large part of the French population, which, in conditions of hard daily work and extreme poverty, was forced to provide a luxurious existence for representatives of the privileged classes.

Reasons for revolution in France at the end of the 18th century:

  • the country's huge external debt;
  • unlimited power of the monarch;
  • bureaucracy of officials and lawlessness of high-ranking officials;
  • heavy tax burden;
  • harsh exploitation of peasants;
  • exorbitant demands of the ruling elite.

More about the reasons for the revolution

The French monarchy was headed at the end of the 18th century by Louis XVI of the Bourbon dynasty. The power of his crowned majesty was limitless. It was believed that she was given to him by God through confirmation during his coronation. In making his decision, the monarch relied on the support of the smallest, but most high-ranking and wealthy residents of the country - nobles and representatives of the clergy. By this time, the external debts of the state had grown to monstrous proportions and became an unbearable burden not only for the mercilessly exploited peasants, but also for the bourgeoisie, whose industrial and commercial activities were subject to exorbitant taxes.

The main reasons for the French Revolution of 1789 were the discontent and gradual impoverishment of the bourgeoisie, which until recently had put up with absolutism, which patronized the development of industrial production in the interests of national well-being. However, it became increasingly difficult to satisfy the demands of the upper classes and big bourgeoisie. There was a growing need to reform the archaic system of government and the national economy, which was choking on bureaucracy and corruption of government officials. At the same time, the enlightened part of French society was infected with the ideas of the philosophical writers of that time - Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Montesquieu, who insisted that an absolute monarchy infringed on the rights of the main population of the country.

Also, the causes of the French bourgeois revolution of 1789-1799 can be attributed to the natural disasters that preceded it, which worsened the already difficult living conditions of peasants and reduced the income of a few industrial productions.

The first stage of the French Revolution 1789-1799

Let us consider in detail all stages of the French Revolution of 1789-1799.

The first stage began on January 24, 1789 with the convening of the Estates General at the behest of the French monarch. This event was out of the ordinary, since the last time a meeting of the highest class representative body of France took place at the beginning of the 16th century. However, the situation when it was necessary to dismiss the government and urgently elect a new director general of finance in the person of Jacques Necker was extraordinary and required drastic measures. Representatives of the upper classes set the goal of the meeting to find funds to replenish the state treasury, while the whole country was expecting total reforms. Disagreements began between the classes, leading to the formation of the National Assembly on June 17, 1789. It consisted of delegates from the third estate and two dozen deputies from the clergy who joined them.

Formation of the Constituent National Assembly

Soon after the meeting, the king made a unilateral decision to abolish all the decisions adopted at it, and already at the next meeting the deputies were seated according to class. A few days later, 47 more deputies joined the majority, and Louis XVI, forced to take a compromise step, ordered the remaining representatives to join the ranks of the assembly. Later, on July 9, 1789, the abolished Estates General were transformed into the Constituent National Assembly.

The position of the newly formed representative body was extremely precarious due to the unwillingness of the royal court to accept defeat. The news that the royal troops were put on alert to disperse the Constituent Assembly stirred up a wave of popular discontent, leading to dramatic events that decided the fate of the French Revolution of 1789-1799. Necker was removed from office, and it seemed that the short life of the Constituent Assembly was nearing its end.

Storming of the Bastille

In response to the events in Parliament, a rebellion broke out in Paris, beginning on July 12, reaching its climax the next day and marked by the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The capture of this fortress, which was in the minds of the people a symbol of absolutism and the despotic power of the state, forever went down in the history of France as the first victory of the insurgent people, forcing the king to admit that the French Revolution of 1789 had begun.

Declaration of Human Rights

Riots and unrest swept the entire country. Large-scale protests by peasants consolidated the victory of the Great French Revolution. In August of the same year, the Constituent Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a landmark document that marked the beginning of the construction of democracy throughout the world. However, not all representatives of the lower class had a chance to taste the fruits of the revolution. The Assembly abolished only indirect taxes, leaving direct ones in force, and as time passed, when the fog of romantic illusions dissipated, numerous townspeople and peasants realized that the big bourgeoisie had removed them from government decisions, ensuring their financial well-being and legal protection.

A trip to Versailles. Reforms

The food crisis that broke out in Paris in early October 1789 provoked another wave of discontent, culminating in a march on Versailles. Under pressure from the crowd that broke into the palace, the king agreed to sanction the Declaration and other decrees adopted in August 1789.

The state set a course towards establishing a constitutional monarchy. This meant that the king governed within the framework of existing legislation. Changes affected the structure of the government, which lost royal councils and secretaries of state. The administrative division of France was significantly simplified, and instead of a multi-stage complex structure, 83 departments of equal size appeared.

The reforms affected the judicial system, which lost corrupt positions and acquired a new structure.

The clergy, some of whom did not recognize the new civil status of France, found themselves in the grip of a schism.

Next stage

The Great French Revolution of 1789 was only the beginning in a chain of events, including the escape attempt of Louis XVI and the subsequent fall of the monarchy, military conflicts with leading European powers that did not recognize the new state structure of France and the subsequent proclamation of the French Republic. In December 1792, the king was tried and found guilty. Louis XVI was beheaded on January 21, 1793.

Thus began the second stage of the French Revolution of 1789-1799, marked by a struggle between the moderate Girondin party, seeking to stop the further development of the revolution, and the more radical Jacobins, who insisted on expanding its actions.

Final stage

The deterioration of the economic situation in the country due to the political crisis and hostilities intensified the class struggle. Peasant uprisings broke out again, leading to the unauthorized division of communal lands. The Girondists, who entered into an agreement with counter-revolutionary forces, were expelled from the Convention, the highest legislative body of the First French Republic, and the Jacobins came to power alone.

In subsequent years, the Jacobin dictatorship resulted in a rebellion of the National Guard, ending with the transfer of power to the Directory at the end of 1795. Its further actions were aimed at suppressing pockets of extremist resistance. Thus ended the ten-year French bourgeois revolution of 1789 - a period of socio-economic upheaval, which was marked by a coup d'état that occurred on November 9, 1799.

Among non-Marxist historians, two views prevail on the nature of the Great French Revolution, which do not contradict each other. The traditional view that arose at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. (Sieyès, Barnave, Guizot), considers the revolution as a nationwide uprising against the aristocracy, its privileges and its methods of oppressing the masses, hence the revolutionary terror against the privileged classes, the desire of the revolutionaries to destroy everything that was associated with the Old Order and build a new free and democratic society . From these aspirations flowed the main slogans of the revolution - freedom, equality, brotherhood.

According to the second view, which is shared by a large number of modern historians (including V. Tomsinov, I. Wallerstein, P. Huber, A. Cobbo, D. Guerin, E. Leroy Ladurie, B. Moore, Huneke, etc.), the revolution was anti-capitalist in nature and represented an explosion of mass protest against capitalism or against those methods of its spread that were used by the ruling elite.

There are other opinions about the nature of the revolution. For example, historians F. Furet and D. Richet view the revolution largely as a struggle for power between various factions that replaced each other several times during 1789-1799. . There is a view of the revolution as the liberation of the bulk of the population (peasants) from a monstrous system of oppression or some kind of slavery, hence the main slogan of the revolution - Liberty, equality, brotherhood. However, there is evidence that at the time of the revolution the vast majority of the French peasantry were personally free, and state taxes and feudal duties were not at all high. The reasons for the revolution are seen to be that it was a peasant revolution caused by the last filling of the reservoir. From this point of view, the French Revolution was systemic in nature and belonged to the same type of revolution as the Dutch Revolution, the English Revolution or the Russian Revolution. .

Convocation of the Estates General

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get out of a difficult financial situation, Louis XVI announced in December 1787 that he would convene French government officials for a meeting of the States General in five years. When Jacques Necker became a parliamentarian for the second time, he insisted that the Estates General be convened as early as 1789; the government, however, had no specific program.

The rebel peasants burned the castles of the lords, seizing their lands. In some provinces, about half of the landowners' estates were burned or destroyed; these events of 1789 were called the “Great Fear”.

Abolition of class privileges

By decrees of August 4-11, the Constituent Assembly abolished personal feudal duties, seigneurial courts, church tithes, privileges of individual provinces, cities and corporations and declared the equality of all before the law in the payment of state taxes and the right to occupy civil, military and church positions. But at the same time it announced the elimination of only “indirect” duties (the so-called banalities): the “real” duties of the peasants, in particular, land and poll taxes, were retained.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Activities of the Constituent Assembly

Was held administrative reform: The provinces were united into 83 departments with a single judicial system.

Following the principle of civil equality, the assembly abolished class privileges and abolished the institution of hereditary nobility, noble titles and coats of arms.

The policy began to take hold economic liberalism: it was announced that all trade restrictions would be lifted; Medieval guilds and state regulation of entrepreneurship were liquidated, but at the same time, according to Le Chapelier's law, strikes and workers' organizations - companionships - were prohibited.

In July 1790, the Constituent Assembly completed church reform: bishops were appointed to all 83 departments of the country; all church ministers began to receive salaries from the state. The Constituent Assembly demanded that the clergy swear allegiance not to the Pope, but to the French state. Only half of the priests and only 7 bishops decided to take this step. The Pope responded by condemning the French Revolution, all the reforms of the Constituent Assembly, and especially the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.”

Adoption of the constitution

Arrest of Louis XVI

On June 20, 1791, the king tried to escape the country, but was recognized at the border in Varenna by a postal employee and returned to Paris, where he actually found himself in custody in his own palace (the so-called “Varenna crisis”).

On September 3, 1791, the National Assembly proclaimed the fourth constitution in European history (after the Constitution of Pylyp Orlik, the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of May 3, and the Constitution of San Marino) and the fifth constitution in the world (the US Constitution of 1787). It proposed to convene a Legislative Assembly - a unicameral parliament based on a high property qualification. There were only 4.3 million “active” citizens who received the right to vote under the constitution, and only 50 thousand electors who elected deputies. Deputies of the National Assembly could not be elected to the new parliament. The Legislative Assembly opened on October 1, 1791. This fact indicated the establishment of a limited monarchy in the country.

At meetings of the Legislative Assembly, the question of starting a war in Europe was raised, primarily as a means of solving internal problems. On April 20, 1792, the King of France, under pressure from the Legislative Assembly, declared war on the Holy Roman Empire. On April 28, 1792, the National Guard launched attacks on the Belgian positions, which ended in complete failure.

From the storming of the Tuileries to the execution of the king

On August 10, 1792, about 20 thousand rebels (the so-called sans-culottes) surrounded the royal palace. His assault was short-lived, but bloody. The attackers were resisted by several thousand soldiers of the Swiss Guard, almost all of whom fell at the Tuileries or were killed in prisons during the “September Murders”. One of the results of this assault was the virtual removal of Louis XVI from power and the emigration of Lafayette.

From this point on, for several months, the highest revolutionary bodies - the National Assembly and the Convention - were under strong influence and pressure from the popular masses (sans-culottes) and in a number of cases were forced to fulfill the immediate demands of the crowd of rebels who surrounded the building of the National Assembly. These demands included the rollback of previously implemented trade liberalization, freezing prices, wages and harsh prosecution of speculators. These measures were taken and lasted until the arrest of Robespierre in July 1794. All this occurred against the backdrop of a rise in mass terror, which, although directed mainly against the aristocracy, led to the executions and murders of tens of thousands of people from all walks of life.

At the end of August, the Prussian army launched an attack on Paris and took Verdun on September 2, 1792. The confusion and fear of the return of the old order in society led to the “September murders” of aristocrats and former soldiers of the king’s Swiss guard, prisoners in prisons in Paris and a number of other cities, which occurred in early September, during which more than 5 thousand people were killed.

Accusations and attacks on the Girondins

The trial of Marie Antoinette

The revolution led to enormous casualties. It is estimated that from 1789 to 1815. Only from revolutionary terror in France up to 2 million civilians died, and up to 2 million soldiers and officers died in wars. Thus, 7.5% of the population of France died in revolutionary battles and wars alone (the population in the city was 27,282,000), not counting those who died over the years from hunger and epidemics. By the end of the Napoleonic era, there were almost no adult men left in France capable of fighting.

At the same time, a number of authors point out that the revolution brought liberation from heavy oppression to the people of France, which could not have been achieved in any other way. A “balanced” view of the revolution views it as a great tragedy in the history of France, but at the same time inevitable, resulting from the severity of class contradictions and accumulated economic and political problems.

Most historians believe that the Great French Revolution had enormous international significance, contributed to the spread of progressive ideas throughout the world, influenced a series of revolutions in Latin America, as a result of which the latter was freed from colonial dependence, and a number of other events in the first half of the 19th century.

Songs of revolutionary France

Revolution in philately

Literature

  • Ado A.V. Peasants and the Great French Revolution. Peasant movements in 1789-94. M.: Publishing house Mosk. University, 2003.
  • Current problems in studying the history of the Great French Revolution (materials of the “round table” on September 19-20, 1988). M., 1989.
  • Bachko B.. How to get out of Terror? Thermidor and the Revolution. Per. from fr. and last D. Yu. Bovykina. M.: BALTRUS, 2006.
  • Bovykin D. Yu. Is the revolution over? Results of Thermidor. M.: Publishing house Mosk. University, 2005.
  • Gordon A.V. The fall of the Girondins. Popular uprising in Paris May 31 - June 2, 1793. M.: Nauka, 2002.
  • Dzhivelegov A.K. The army of the Great French Revolution and its leaders: a historical sketch. M., 2006.
  • Historical sketches about the French Revolution. In memory of V. M. Dalin (on the occasion of his 95th birthday). Institute of General History RAS. M., 1998.
  • Zacher Ya. M.“Mad Ones,” their activities and historical significance // French Yearbook, 1964. M., 1965
  • Carlyle T. French Revolution: history. M., 2002.
  • Koshen O. Small people and revolution. M.: Iris-Press, 2003.
  • Kropotkin P. A. The French Revolution. 1789-1793. M., 2003.
  • Levandovsky A. Maximilian Robespierre. M.: Young Guard, 1959. (ZhZL)
  • Levandovsky A. Danton. M.: Young Guard, 1964. (ZhZL)
  • Manfred A. Z. Foreign policy of France 1871-1891. M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1952.
  • Manfred A. Z. The French Revolution. M., 1983.
  • Manfred A. Z. Three portraits of the era of the Great French Revolution (Mirabeau, Rousseau, Robespierre). M., 1989.
  • Mathiez A. French revolution. Rostov-on-Don, 1995.
  • Minier F. History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814. M., 2006.
  • Olar A. Political history of the French Revolution. M., 1938. Part 1, Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
  • The first explosion of the French Revolution. From the reports of the Russian envoy in Paris I. M. Simolin to Vice-Chancellor A. I. Osterman// Russian archive, 1875. - Book. 2. - Issue. 8. - pp. 410-413.
  • Popov Yu. V. Publicists of the Great French Revolution. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 2001.
  • Revunenkov V. G. Essays on the history of the Great French Revolution. L., 1989.
  • Revunenkov V. G. Parisian sans-culottes of the era of the French Revolution. L., 1971.
  • Sobul A. From the history of the Great Bourgeois Revolution of 1789-1794. and the revolution of 1848 in France. M., 1960.
  • Sobul A. The problem of the nation during the social struggle during the French bourgeois revolution of the 18th century. New and Contemporary History, 1963, No. 6. P.43-58.
  • Tarle E. V. Working class in France during the revolution
  • Tocqueville A. The old order and revolution. Per. from fr. M. Fedorova. M.: Moscow. Philosophical Foundation, 1997.
  • Tyrsenko A.V. Feyants: at the origins of French liberalism. M., 1993.
  • Frikadel G.S. Danton. M. 1965.
  • Yure F. Understanding the French Revolution. St. Petersburg, 1998.
  • Hobsbawm E. Echo of the Marseillaise. M., Inter-Verso, 1991.
  • Chudinov A.V.. M.: Nauka, 2006.
  • Chudinov A.V. Scientists and the French Revolution

see also

Notes

  1. Wallerstein I. The Modern World-System III. The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist World-Economy, 1730-1840s. San Diego, 1989, pp. 40-49; Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 265
  2. See, for example: Goubert P. L’Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 1, 1969, p. 235
  3. The introduction of market relations began in 1763-1771. under Louis XV and continued in subsequent years, until 1789 (see Ancien Regime). The leading role in this was played by liberal economists (physiocrats), who were almost all representatives of the aristocracy (including the head of government, the physiocrat Turgot), and kings Louis XV and Louis XVI were active supporters of these ideas. See Kaplan S. Bread, Politics and Political Economy in the reign of Louis XV. Hague, 1976
  4. See Old Order. One such example is the uprising of October 1795 (shot from cannon by Napoleon), in which 24 thousand armed bourgeois - residents of the central districts of Paris - took part. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek and others, Minsk, 1997-1999, vol. 16, p. 86-90. Another example is the uprising of the sans-culottes on August 10, 1792, who for the most part represented the petty bourgeoisie (small businesses, artisans, etc.) opposing big business - the aristocracy. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 109
  5. Goubert P. L'Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 2, 1973, p. 247
  6. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 255
  7. Wallerstein I. The Modern World-System III. The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist World-Economy, 1730-1840s. San Diego, 1989, pp. 40-49
  8. Furet F. et Richet D. La revolution francaise. Paris, 1973, pp. 213, 217
  9. Goubert P. L'Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 1, 1969; Kuzovkov Yu. World history of corruption. M., 2010, chapter XIII
  10. Aleksakha A. G. Introduction to progressology. Moscow, 2004 p. 208-233 alexakha.ucoz.com/vvedenie_v_progressologiju.doc
  11. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek et al., Minsk, 1998, vol. 16, p. 7-9
  12. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek et al., Minsk, 1998, vol. 16, p. 14
  13. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 71
  14. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 111, 118
  15. World History: In 24 volumes. A. Badak, I. Voynich, N. Volchek et al., Minsk, 1998, vol. 16, p. 37-38
  16. Chudinov A.V. Charlotte Corday and “Friend of the People” from the book: Chudinov A.V. The French Revolution: history and myths. M.: Nauka, 2006.
  17. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 253
  18. Goubert P. L'Ancien Regime. Paris, T. 2, 1973, pp. 245-247
  19. Kozhinov V. Russia. XX century. Moscow, 2008, p. 974
  20. Palmer R. The World of the French Revolution. New York, 1971, p. 254

Links

REVIEWER – Associate Professor, Ph.D. history Sciences E.A. Pakhomova

Great The French Revolution and its influence on the development of Europe: method. development for students those. specialists (bachelors and specialists) / comp. - NOT. Arkhipova. – N. Novgorod: Publishing house of the Federal Budget Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “VGAVT”, 2014. – 16 p.

The causes and main stages of the French Revolution of 1789, its results and significance for France and Europe as a whole are briefly examined.

The material is intended for students of technical specialties to prepare for seminars and the history exam.

© Federal Budget Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "VGAVT", 2014

Causes of the Great French Revolution

Spreading educational ideas in France seriously influenced the subsequent revolution. The ideas of the French enlighteners found a response in orders to the Estates General - the highest body of class representation (clergy, nobility and cities) (1337–1453). All classes of French society defended rights and freedoms based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, including the right to free ownership of land. Most of the orders proposed limiting the power of the king, in particular by proclaiming a constitutional monarchy in the country.

Socio-economic problems also became the cause of the French Revolution. The first estate of the country - the priests (1% of the population) - had 10% of the land. Most of the priests were poor. Many of them supported the revolution.

The second estate - the French nobility - made up 2–2.5% of the population of France, while owning 20% ​​of the land. The nobles, like the priests, enjoyed numerous taxes from the peasants. In the second half of the 18th century. in France, the nobles sought to consolidate feudal relations in the country. For these purposes, the institute of “feudis” was created, which was engaged in searching for the duties of peasants from thousands of years ago. Some historians regard this process as a response of the feudal lords to the development of capitalism in Europe.

95–97% of the country's population belonged to the third estate: bourgeois, office workers, urban plebs, peasantry. It is in this class that we observe signs of class stratification.

The bourgeoisie in France by the end of the 18th century. accounted for 8% of the country's population, it owned 20% of the land. The French bourgeoisie preferred to lease land to peasants, for which the latter gave half of their harvest.

Peasants in France owned 40% of the land. But property rights were not assigned to them. It was the only one in the country tax-paying class. Peasants paid direct taxes, as well as indirect taxes on the sale of wine and salt, performed numerous state duties, and paid tithes to the church. Poverty in the country was significant, but its extent varied by region. The right to private ownership of land and the elimination of feudal duties became the main demands of the peasants in the revolution.

It is necessary to recognize class differentiation in France on the eve of the revolution, but the French Revolution began as a struggle for power between the aristocrats and the king.

Political reasons The revolutions were associated with the crisis of French absolutism, which arose and flourished under Louis XIV (1661–1715). His successor, Louis XV (1715–1774), was poorly educated and spent his life on numerous favorites. The nobles at this time began to strengthen their political influence in the country. Louis XVI (1774–1792) was not interested in politics. Under him, local parliaments became more active, which since ancient times were required to register royal laws, but by the end of the 18th century. they began to seek greater powers, such as the restoration of the right to vote for or against royal decrees and laws. The Duke of Orleans, during his regency under the young Louis XV, gave them this right. As an adult, Louis XV dissolved the local parliaments, and Louis XVI restored them, seeking to use them to collect taxes from the population. However, local parliaments gradually turned into centers of resistance to the French monarchy. In addition, after the defeat of France in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the country experienced financial crisis. In France, by the end of the 80s. XVIII century The treasury became bankrupt. The church and nobility did not pay taxes, and the bulk of the French by the end of the 18th century. was unable to do this. The situation was aggravated by customs barriers to trade. France was divided into numerous administrative units, each of which had its own currency and its own measures of weights. Local aristocrats expressed their willingness to help solve financial problems, but only if their political rights were expanded. Thus, the provincial nobility tried to limit the absolute power of the king.

Comptroller General Charles de Calonne put forward a project for an estate-less direct land tax. Local parliaments did not want to take on such responsibility. Calonna's project was aborted. The king sent him into retirement.

The French aristocrats demanded the convening of the Estates General, hoping by decision of the national parliament with the support of the king to increase the burden of taxes on the third estate. The king once again dissolved local parliaments. Political anarchy ensued in the country, which inevitably forced the royal court to convene a national assembly.

May 5, 1789 meetings began States General. This meant collapse of absolutism in the country. Contrary to the will of the king, the Estates General again restored local parliaments. At the same time, the aristocrats decided that voting in the Estates General would be carried out according to the principle: one estate - one vote. As a result, the third estate was opposed to the first and second and was doomed to defeat at the polls. The Royal Council approved this voting procedure, which indicated the helplessness of the royal house to resist the influence of the aristocrats and the church. This, in turn, turned the third estate against the king.

The Third Estate in the Estates General demanded to prohibit persecution by the authorities without trial, to reduce taxes and collect them from all classes, and to regularly convene the national parliament of the country (after 4 years).